Mining machine anchoring mechanism



Oct. 18, 1955 F. B. MILLER MINING MACHINE} ANCHORING MECHANISM 4Sheets--Sheet 1 Filed June 29, 1950 lNl/ENT'OR 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledJune 29, 1950 INVENTOR INVENTOI? F. B. MILLER 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Oct. 18,1955 MINING MACHINE ANCHORING MECHANISM Filed June 29, 1950 Oct. 18,1955 F. B. MILLER MINING MACHINE ANCHQRING MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet 4Filed June 29 1950 mm I II /N l/ENTOE United States Patent MININGMACHINE ANCHORING MECHANISM Frederick B. Miller, Chicago, Ill.; Mary W.Miller, executrix of the estate of said Frederick B. Miller, deceasedApplication June 29, 1950, Serial No. 171,135

10 Claims. (Cl. 262-9) This invention relates to a machine adaptedto'und'ercut coal, break down the coal undercut, and load the coalcuttings from the undercut and the coal broken down above the undercut.

Among the objects of my invention is to provide an improved andetficient form of anchor for releasably anchoring a coal mining machineto the floor of the mine, whereby the machine will effectively resistthe reactive force of the wedge plate caused by forward thrusts of thesame in breaking down the coal at the mine face.

A further object is to provide anchoring mechanism for a coal miningmachine including a pivoted anchor bar carried by the forward kerfcutting end of the machine, said pivoted anchor bar in pressing againstthe floor of the mine causing the kerf cutting forward end to pressagainst the top side of the kerf with an equal and opposite force,whereby the combined action of said anchor bar and the kerf cuttingforward end locks the machine in coal mining position.

These and other objects will be apparent after referring to theaccompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of the machine;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the machine taken on line IIll of Figurel and in part section showing the detail of the hydraulic jack inconjunction with an anchor bar pressed against the floor of the mine;

Figure 3 is an end elevation of the machine taken on line III-H1 ofFigure 1;

Figure 4 is a transverse section of the conveyor taken on line IV-IV ofFigure 1 showing the conveyor in relation to the cutter chains;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary detail, in part elevation and in part sectionon line V-V of Figure 1 showing details of the hydraulic jack inconjunction with the anchor bar in retracted position;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary detail of the quadrant gears taken inelevation on line VI-VI of Figure 1;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary detail of the quadrant gears in plan taken online VIIVII of Figure 6;

Figure 8 is an enlarged fragmentary detail of the forward end of thecutter chain guide showing shoes in conjunction with the anchor bar; and

Figure 9 is an enlarged fragmentary detail of the forward end of thecutter chain guide in section on line IX-IX of Figure 8.

Reference is now made to the details of the machine of my inventionillustrated in the drawings. The main frame 10 is pivotally mounted on atransverse cross member 11, which is formed integral with a pair oflongitudinal endless-tread supporting side frames 12, 12, the sideframes beingprovided with a front end idler sprocket or roller 13, arear drive sprocket 14, fixed to a drive shaft (source of power notshown) and an intermediate shoe 16 for endless treads 17, 17 of wellknown construction. A second cross member 18 is formed integral with thepair of side frames 12, 12. A pair of cylinders 19, 19 ispivotallymounted on the second cross member 18. A piston 20 isreciprocally mounted in each of the cylinders 19, 19, the piston 20being fixed to a piston rod 21 pivotally connected to the main frame 10.Hydraulic pressure to the cylinders 19, 19 for tilting the main frame 10may be supplied as usual from a pump, under manual control of suitablevalves, not shown.

Fixed to the forward end of the main frame 10 is a pair of cutting chainguides 22, 22. In each cutting chain guide 22, 22 is a cutter chain 23of usual construction driven by a sprocket 24 fixed to a shaft 25. Thedrive shaft 25 is journalled in a housing 26 secured to each of thecutter chain guides (source of power not shown). Shoes 27, 27, fixed totop and bottom sides of the forward end of each cutter chain guide 22,22, are adapted to bear against the top and bottom sides of the kerf tobe described.

A single endless conveyor belt 28 is driven by a pulley 2.9, fixed to adrive shaft 30-, the drive shaft 30 being journalled in the rear end ofthe main frame 10, source of power not shown. The conveyor belt 28 istrained over a pulley 31 journalled on a shaft 32 fixed in the forwardend of the main frame 10, and in the path of the cutter chains 23, 23,the latter being adapted to rake and crowd the cuttings on the conveyorbelt 28.

A pair of hydraulic jacks, each of which includes a cylinder 33, extendsthrough and is fixed in each of the cutter chain guides 22, 22. A piston34, reciprocally mounted in each of the cylinders 33, 33, is providedwith a piston rod 35. A piston rod head 36, fixed to each of the pistonrods 35', 35, is slidably guided in the end of the cylinders 33, 33opposite the pistons 34, 34. A longitudinal slot 37 is provided in eachof the cutter chain guides 22, 22, and an anchor bar 38 is pivotallymounted in each ofsaid slots on a pin 39. The rear end of each anchorbar 38, 38 is formed to fit into each of the piston rod heads 36, 36.The forward portion of said anchor bars is adapted toengage and pressagainst the floor of the mine, said anchor bars being actuated in amanner to accomplish this result by the piston rod heads 36 upon.movement of the piston 34 in an upward direction. The cylinders 33, 33are each provided with fluid inlet and exhaust pipes 40, 40 throughwhich a pressure fluid may be supplied to the cylinders 33 for impartingmovement to the anchor bars 38.

Mounted on the main frame 10 is a mechanism for breaking down the coal,similar to that shown and described in my prior United States Patent No.2,368,863, dated February 6, 1945. This mechanism consists of a pair ofspaced upright supporting brackets or bearings 41 and 42 and a pair ofhorizontal shafts 43 and 44 journalled therein. A pair of carriage guidemembers 45 and 46 is pivotally mounted at their rear ends on shaft 43.Quadrant gear 47, keyed to shaft 44, is meshed with quadrant gear 48,the quadrant gear 48 being integral with the guide members 45 and46 sothat rotation of shaft 44, by source of power not shown, will cause aswinging movement to the carriage guide members about the shaft 43.Guide members 45 and 46 are provided with hearing portions 49 and 50,respectively on which the ram bars 51 and 52, forming the sides of thecarriage, are slidably mounted. The ram bars 51 and 52 are tied togetherto complete the carriage by a carriage base plate 53. The ram bars 51and 52 are adapted to reciprocate on the bearing portions 49 and and areprovided with rack portions 54 meshed with rack pinions 55 keyed to theshaft 43, the shaft 43 being power driven in reversible directions by asource of power not shown. Secured to the carriage base plate 53 is awidge plate 56 adapted to be driven into the coal at the mine face fordislodging the coal by successive thrusts of the wedge plate.

In operation the main frame 10 is fed forwardly to engage the cutterchains 23, 23 with coal to be mined 'the cutter chains.

'reset in retracted position.

and thereby cut a kerf. Cuttings from the kerf are raked backwardly andcrowded onto the conveyor belt 28 by On completion of the cutting of thekerf to a predetermined depth, fluid is directed into the cylinders 33,33 for imparting movement to the pistons 34, 34, and thereby cause theforward end of the anchor bars 38, 38 to be pressed against the minefloor previously cut by the cutter chains 23, 23.

As a result of the pressure exerted against the floor of the mine by theanchor bars 38, 38 as described, the forward end of the cutter guides22, 22 is caused to bear against the top side of the kerf with an equaland opposite force. For this reason the cutter guides are provided withthe shoes 27, 27 at their forward end and said shoes also reinforce thecutter guides during their cutting action in cutting a kerf. Thus thecombined action of the anchor bars in pressing downwardly against themine floor and that of the shoes on the forward end of the cutter guidesin pressing upwardly against the top surface of the kerf locks themachine in a coal mining position and the reactive forces caused by thethrusts of the wedge plate are effectively resisted.

The forward end of the main frame carrying the cutter guides 22, 22isadapted to enter the kerf to an extent wherebythe said forward end islocated beyond the mate- 'rial to be presently dislodged by theoperations of the wedge plate 56. This is important since the action ofthe anchor bars'38, 38 is to thus cause said forward end of the mainframe to engage solid material for holding the mining machine and whichmaterial is not dislodged by the reciprocating movements of the wedgeplate to presently follow but remains intact, performing said holdingfunction until the next succeeding operation of the mining machine.

-Upon completion of the breaking down of the successive portions of coalto a predetermined height above the kerf the fluid in cylinders 33, 33is released. The pressure in the cylinders 33, 33 being released,pressure on the anchor bars is removed and the anchor bars are With theanchor bars in retracted position, the machine is free to be movedforwardly to provide a successive kerf. When the machine is being movedforwardly for cutting the successive kerf, the broken down coalrestingon the cutter chain guides 22, 22 is moved up inclined portion 57,of main frame and onto conveyor belt 28 by reason of the cutter chainguides entering the successive kerf. The flared ribs 58, 58, formingpart of main frame 10, are adapted to guide the flow of coal into thepath of the conveyor belt 28 which extends longitudinally of main frame10.

The invention'is not to be limited to or by details of construction ofthe particular embodiment thereof illustrated by the drawings as variousforms of the device will of course be apparent to those skilled in theart without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope ofthe claims.

I claim:

1. In a mining machine having a main frame, a pair of cutter chainguides extending from said main frame, a drive sprocket in each ofsaidguides, an endless cutter chain in each of said guides adapted to betrained over its respective sprocket, means for moving said cutterchains forwardly to cut a kerf in the material to be mined, a shoedisposed on the top side of at least one of said guides, an anchor barpivotally mounted in at least one of said guides, breaking downmechanism mounted on said main frame for breaking down the material tobe mined above said kerf and rear-wardly of said shoe, means forimparting movement to said anchor bar for pressing said anchor bar intothe bottom side of said kerf, said shoe being adapted to bear againstthe top side of said kerf with a force which is equal and opposite tothat exerted by the anchor bar against the bottom side of said kerf,whereby said anchor bar and shoe provide an abutment for resisting thereactive force of said breaking down mechanism.

2. In a mining machine having a main frame, undercutting meanspositioned at the forward end of said main frame and adapted to be movedforwardly to cut a kerf in the material to be mined, breaking downmechanism mounted on said main frame for breaking down material to bemined above said kerf, said forward end of said main frame being adaptedto enter said kerf in advance of that portion of said kerf above whichmaterial is broken down by said breaking down mechanism, an anchor barmounted adjacent the undercutting means at the forward end of the mainframe for vertical swinging movement,

in the material to 'be mined, said forward end of said main frame beingadapted to enter'said kerf, an anchor bar mounted adjacent theundercutting means at the for-' ward end of the main frame for verticalswinging movement and being adapted to bear against the bottom side ofsaid kerf, breaking down mechanism mounted on said main frame, saidbreaking down mechanism being adapted to break down material to apredetermined depth but less than that of said kerf, whereby thematerial above the remaining depth of said kerf provides a backing forthe anchor bar, said forward end of said main frame being adapted tobear against said backing with a force that is opposite to that exertedby the anchor bar when pressed into the bottom side of said kerf,whereby said anchor bar provides an abutment for resisting the reactiveforce .of said breaking down mechanism.

4. In a mining machine having a main frame, undercutting meanspositioned at the forward end of said main frame and adapted to be movedforwardly to cut successive kerfs in the material to be mined, breakingdown mechanism mounted on said main frame for breaking down material tobe mined above each successive kerf, said forward end of said main framebeing adapted to enter each successive kerf beyond the material to bebroken down, an anchor bar mounted adjacent the undercutting means atthe forward end of the main frame, means for impartingswinging movementto said anchor bar for pressing said anchor bar into the bottom side ofeach successive kerf, said forward end of said main frame being adaptedto bear against the top side of each successive kerf to provide abacking for saidanchor bar, whereby said anchor bar provides an abutmentfor resisting the reactive force of said breaking down mechanism.

5. In a mining machine having a main frame, a pair of cutter chainguides extending from said main frame, a drive sprocket journalled ineach of said guides, an endless cutter chain in each of said guidesadapted to be trained over its respective sprocket, means for movingsaid cutter chains forwardly to provide a kerf in the material to bemined, a shoe disposed on the top side of each of said guides, an anchorbar for each guide pivotally mounted in a slot provided in each of saidguides, a carriage mounted for vertical swinging movement relative tosaid main frame, a dislodging member mounted on said carriage andadapted to break down the material to be mined above said kerf andrearwardly of said shoes, a cylinder fixed to each of said guides, apiston, mounted in each of said cylinders, each of said pistons beingconnected to the rear end of its respective anchor bar, said pistonsupon actuation in a certain direction being adapted to press the forwardend of said anchor bars against the bottom side of said kerf, and saidshoes 3 being adapted to bear against the top side of said kerf toprovide a backing for holding said anchor bars against the bottom sideof said kerf, whereby said anchor bars provide abutments for resistingthe reactive forces of said dislodging member during operation thereof.

6. In a mining machine having a main frame, a pair of cutter chainguides extending from said main frame, a drive sprocket journalled ineach of said guides, an endless cutter chain in each of said guidesadapted to be trained over its respective sprocket, means for movingsaid cutter chains forwardly to provide a kerf in the material to bemined, at least one shoe being disposed on the top and bottom sidesrespectively of each of said guides, breaking down mechanism mounted onsaid main frame for breaking down the material to be mined, an anchorbar for each guide mounted in a slot provided in each of said guides, acylinder fixed to each of said guides, a piston in each of saidcylinders, each of said pistons being connected to the rear end of oneof said anchor bars, said pistons upon actuation in a certain directionbeing adapted to press the forward end of said anchor bars against thebottom side of said kerf, and said shoes being adapted to bear againstthe top side of said kerf to provide a backing for holding said anchorbars against the bottom side of said kerf, whereby said anchor barsprovide abutments for resisting the reactive force of said breaking downmechanism.

7. In a mining machine having a main frame, a pair of cutter chainguides extending from said main frame, a drive sprocket journalled ineach of said guides, an endless cutter chain in each of said guidesadapted to be trained over its respective sprocket, means for movingsaid cutter chains forwardly to provide a kerf in the material to bemined, at least one shoe being disposed on the top side of each of saidguides and adapted to enter said kerf, an anchor bar for each guidepivotally mounted in a slot provided in each of said guides, breakingdown mechanism mounted on said main frame adapted to break down thematerial to be mined above said kerf, means for imparting movement toeach of said anchor bars for pressing said anchor bars into the bottomside of said kerf, said shoes being adapted to bear against the top sideof said kerf to provide a backing for bolding said anchor bars againstthe bottom side of said kerf whereby said anchor bars provide abutmentsfor resisting the reactive force of said breaking down mechanism.

8. In a mining machine having a main frame, a pair of cutter chainguides extending from said main frame, a drive sprocket journaled ineach of said guides, an endless cutter chain in each of said guidesadapted to be trained over its respective sprocket, means for movingsaid main frame forwardly to force the operative sections of said cutterchains against the material to be mined to cut a kerf in the material tobe mined, shoes disposed on the top and bottom sides of said guidesadapted to enter said kerf, an anchor mounted in each of saide guides, abreaking down mechanism mounted on said main frame adapted to break downthe material to be mined above said kerf and rearwardly of said shoes,said shoes being adapted to bear against the top and bottom sides ofsaid kerf for guiding said operative sections of said cutter chain tocut said kerf in substantially the same plane as said shoes, saidanchors being adapted to press against the floor of the mine relativelyadjacent the rear of said shoes, and cause said shoes to press uniformlyagainst the top side of said kerf, whereby said shoes are adapted toprovide a uniform backing for holding said anchors pressed against thefloor of the mine and thereby cause said anchors to resist the reactiveforce of said breaking down mechanism.

9. In a mining machine having a main frame, a pair of cutter chainguides extending from said main frame, an endless cutter chain trainedin each of said guides and adapted to cut a kerf in the material to bemined, at least one shoe being disposed on the top side of each of saidguides, breaking down mechanism mounted on said main frame adapted tobreak down the material to be mined above said kerf, at least one anchorbar mounted in each of said guides for vertical swinging movementrelative to said guides, means for imparting swinging movement to saidanchor bars for pressing said anchor bars into the bottom side of saidkerf, said shoes being adapted to bear against the top side of said kerfto provide a backing for holding said anchor bars pressed into thebottom side of said kerf, whereby said anchor bars provide abutments forresisting the reactive force of said breaking down mechanism.

10. In a mining machine having a main frame, a platform extending fromsaid main frame, at least one shoe disposed on the top side of saidplatform, undercutting means positioned at the forward end of saidplatform adapted to be moved forwardly to cut a kerf in the material tobe mined, breaking down mechanism mounted on said main frame, saidbreaking down mechanism being adapted to break down the material to bemined above said kerf and rearwardly of said shoe, at least one anchorbar pivotally mounted in a slot provided in said platform, means forimparting movement to said anchor bar for pressing said anchor into thefloor of the mine adjacent the kerf, said shoe being adapted to bearagainst the top side of said kerf to provide a backing for holding saidanchor bar pressed into the floor of the mine, whereby said anchor barprovides an abutment for resisting the reactive force of said breakingdown mechanism.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS630,388 Miller Aug. 8, 1899 1,555,464 Farne Sept. 29, 1925 2,212,289Farmer Aug. 20, 1940 2,308,517 Konnerth Jan. 19, 1943 r 2,329,875Carflidge Sept. 21, 1943 2,368,863 Miller Feb. 6, 1945 2,537,331 CassellJan. 9, 1951

